Top 5 Causes of Child Death | Number One May Surprise You!

What is the leading cause of accidental death in children 1–4 years of age?

Motor Vehicle Accidents?

Fires and Burns?

Ingestion of poisons?

Suffocation/Strangulation?

That was a trick question, and hopefully most of you know the correct, tragic answer. Drowning is responsible for more deaths among children 1-4 than any other cause except congenital anomalies (birth defects) according to CDC fatal injury data.

The summer months are here (May thru August) when drowning deaths among children increase nearly 90%. So, I wanted to post a quick blog that I hope you will share with your family and friends. It is not all inclusive, but I hope it may save children’s lives.

Please read if your kids are around ANY type of pool:

Every second counts. If a child is missing, always look in the pool or hot-tub first.

Always remember a child drowning is SILENT. No splashing or calling for help.

Learn and practice CPR so you can help in an emergency.

Teach children to swim, float and other basic life-saving skills; but never consider young children “drown-proof” because they have had swimming lessons.

Install alarms on doors leading from the house to the pool area that will alert you when someone enters the pool area.

Make sure your neighbors, babysitters and visitors know about the pool’s presence in your yard.

All of these are very important, but I highlighted the second one in red because I feel it’s one of the big misconceptions about drowning. A drowning child is SILENT. There will be no calls for help. No splashing or thrashing around.

Adult supervision is key. If your child is in or near the pool (of any size, even a temporary pool) you need to watch them. And I don’t mean watch them while reading Fifty Shades of Grey or doing some yard work. I mean eyes on watching.

[notice] I know this isn’t a “happy” post, but if we can save one child, it was worth it. Please share (you can use the buttons below) with your family and friends if you wish.[/notice]

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12 comments

Thank you so much for posting this; it’s really important! And you’re so right about the misconception of kids thrashing around if they’re in trouble…they don’t.

When I was 2 my family was all hanging out in my aunt’s pool area and I fell in. I don’t remember any of this obviously, but I’ve been told the story a thousand times. None of the adults were paying very close attention at the time and there wasn’t any noise when I fell in. Luckily my cousin was totally paying attention and jumped right in after me within about a second. But no one would have noticed right away that there was an issue because there wasn’t any sound. So be careful!

And it’s really not just kids. I read something a few years ago about most adult drowners almost never make a make a sound… they can’t. I just found the source of that info: “It Doesn’t Look Like They’re Drowning” – How To Recognize the Instinctive Drowning Response.

Oh, and I appreciate tip on your recent post that you shouldn’t put the toothbrush in your mouth after cleaning grout with it. 😉

This message can’t be put out there enough. I live in California, the land of pools, and this is on my mind all the time. I’ve read about these programs that can help kids even a year old learn to self-right themselves after falling in, and float on their backs until someone finds them. Can’t say how well-received those programs are, but I’ve been thinking about them for our two-year old, even though we don’t own a pool.

Thank you, Neal. I agree that teaching basic swimming/floating skills early on is a good idea, but clearly we can never reduce our vigilance as a result. I know you’re not saying that. Did your 2 year old take that class?

My daughter missed swim lessons the last time due to illness, and I’m eager to get her back into them, Bonnie. Yes, I was surprised, too. Thank you so much for your comment. I know you’re not saying this, but I want to stress to anyone reading this:

Teach children to swim, float and other basic life-saving skills; BUT never consider young children “drown-proof” because they have had swimming lessons.

Such an important post! Parents spend too much time worrying about the stranger/pedophile and not enough time thinking about the dangers right in and around their home. It’s also a good practice point to ask a parent before you send your child over for a playdate whether the home has a pool. Because we are often uncomfortable asking some of these questions, or just plain forget to ask or tell about things like whether a home has a pool or a trampoline or pets, we built those into the profile for members on our new free site, http://www.playdateplanet.com. You can now plan playdates quickly, easily, and safely online!

Hi Jared. You’re absolutely right, and clearly bath tubs are a HUGE risk as well. Thanks so much for dropping by. I shared your most recent post with out 26k Twitter friends. We dad bloggers need to stick together.

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Hi! I'm Michael, the founder and editor of adaddyblog.com. I'm a university director by day and a lifestyle blogger by night. More than anything, I'm a husband and a dad. This site targets parenthood from the dad’s perspective, and includes a big focus on family travel, entertainment, technology, social media, coffee, cars & cuddles. ;) Leave a comment on one of my posts and let me know you were here, or connect with me on any of the site icons along the top left of this page!